Volunteer vets to neuter about 300 dogs in northern Quebec

Volunteers helped set up a clinic in northern Quebec to help control the stray dog population. (Facebook/Chiots Nordiques)

Volunteers from southern Quebec made their way to a northern community to try to neuter nearly 300 dogs.

About 15 volunteers, including three veterinarians, have set up a temporary clinic in Schefferville's municipal courthouse, 500 kilometres north of Sept-Îles, to vaccinate, spay and neuter local dogs.

The team had originally set up in Kawawachikamach but had a misunderstanding with the local band council, who thought it was unsanitary to have dogs inside the community centre despite negotiations in June.

"We have 70 cages up in a big room, we have a little place where we installed everything very sterilized to operate the dogs," said Cathy Samson, one of the founders of the non-profit group Chiots Nordiques.

The volunteers packed up the clinic and brought it to Schefferville, about 15 kilometres away.

Some of the dogs will be captured and sterilized by the team of volunteers while others will be brought in by the owners.

She said two of the veterinarians will operate on a total of 75 dogs per day while another takes care of the pre and post surgeries.

"There's danger for the population when there are too many dogs, they can get aggressive and they can bite if they get too angry and there's not enough food for everybody," said Samson.

Chiots Nordiques plans to organize two more annual clinics to make sure the dog population is under control in the long term.